The
father of Douglas MacArthur and Arthur MacArthur
III, he was born in Massachusetts on June 2, 1845. At the outbreak
of the Civil War, he was living in Wisconsin and immediately joined the
24th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, seeing action at Chickamauga, Stones
River, Chattanooga, the Atlanta Campaign and Franklin. He was awarded the
Medal of Honor (in 1890) for service at Missionary Ridge, and he and his
son, Douglas, are one of only two father-son recipients of the Medal of
Honor in U.S. history (the others being Theodore Roosevelt, who was recently
awarded the Medal of Honor for his exploits in the Spanish-American War,
and his son, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., who was awarded the Medal of Honor
for his actions in World War II).

He left the Army in June 1865 and began the
study of law, but it was not for him and he returned to his first love,
the Army, in February 1866, receiving a commission as a Second Lieutenant
in the Regular Army.

For thirty years he traveled the nation, being
assigned to Pennsylvania, New York, Utah Territory, Louisiana and New Mexico,
and where he took part in the campaign against Geronimo in 1885. He was
promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1899. He was stationed in the Dakota
Territory when the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898 and he was commissioned
a Brigadier General of U.S. Volunteers and took part in the capture of
Manila. After the war, President William McKinley named him Military Governor
of the Philippines, but the following year, William
Howard Taft was appointed as Civilian Governor and he and MacArthur
clashed frequently (he seemed to resent civilian authority, much as his
son, Douglas, did both in World War II and later in Korea). As a result,
he was transferred back to the U.S.

In the years that followed he was assigned
to various stateside posts and in 1905 was sent to Manchuria to observe
the final stages of the Russo-Japanese War and served as Military Attaché
to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. He returned to the U.S. in 1906 and resumed
his post as Commander of the Pacific Division. That year the position of
Army Chief of Staff became available and he was then the highest ranking
officer in the Army. However, he was overlooked by Secretary of War William
Howard Taft (old arguments bit him in the butt). He never did realize his
dream of commanding the entire Army.

He retired from the Army on June 2, 1909, the
day that he turned 64. On September 5, 1912, he went to Milwaukee to address
a reunion of his Civil War unit. While on the dais, he suffered a massive
heart attack and died there. He was originally buried in Milwaukee on Monday,
September 7, 1912, but was moved to Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery
in 1926. He is buried among other members of the family there, while Douglas
lies buried in Norfolk, Virginia.

Seized the colors of his regiment at a critical
moment and planted them on the captured works on the crest of Missionary
Ridge.
MRS. A. M'ARTHUR SR.Widow of Philippines Governor and Mother of
Ex-Chief of Staff

MANILA, Philippines - December 3, 1935 - Mrs.
Arthur MacArthur Sr., mother of Major General Douglas MacArthur, died today
after a long illness. She was 82 years old.

She had been ill in her hotel suite since she
arrived in Manila two months ago. Medicine was brought from the United
States by the China Clipper, but it arrived too late.

General MacArthur, former Chief of Staff of
theUnited States Army, is military adviser of the Commonwealth Government
of the Philippine Islands.

Mrs. MacArthurwas born in Norfolk, Virginia,
and was the widow of Major General Arthur MacArthur, former Military Governor
of the Philippines.